Nellis- Fireflies

Little lights blinked throughout the yard, bright yellow appearing then disappearing in the darkness. The night was warm and it was the first time fireflies had been out that year. Ellis was excited about this little fact, and was currently running around the yard barefoot trying to catch as many fireflies as he could before releasing them. Nick had suggested putting them in a jar, but Ellis had refused, saying that they shouldn't be captured permanently.

The gambler was sitting on the porch steps and had refused to do more of than that. He watched the hick, Ellis acting like a child to him. He would have brought out some coffee for himself but with all the bugs flying around he didn't want any surprises landing in his mug.

The conman had to admit though, they were relaxing to watch, and it was amusing to see how delighted the hick was by the little bugs.

"….Keith tried to make a flashlight run on fireflies once, 'cept they were blinking too much an' he couldn't use a real flashlight to put them in….."

Ellis had been rambling as usual, Nick had only partially listened, more focused on simply watching.

His attention spiked slightly when Ellis stopped talking and there was a silent pause, green eyes flickering to focus more on the Georgian. Ellis jumped and brought his hands together, a firefly disappearing into them. Opening his hands slightly he peered at the bug he had caught before closing his hands again and turning to trot over to Nick.

"My mama always said that each firefly represents a person in the world, an' every time a person smiles, their firefly lights up."

Ellis bent and opened his hands to show Nick the firefly he had caught. The gambler glanced at it, watching the bug crawl across his palm.

"Who's firefly do ya think this is?"

Nick snorted. "It's a bug, Ellis. It doesn't belong to anybody."

The hick gave a little pout at the comment. "C'mon, don't be like that."

Nick gave another little snort and smirked at the hick and because there was nothing like perfect timing, the firefly chose to light up at that instant.

Ellis broke into a grin. "Aw look't, a think this is you're firefly, Nick."

Nick rolled his eyes. "There are hundreds of fireflies lighting up at the same time."

"Yeah, but this is the one I brought to ya."

Nick's brow furrowed slightly, unsure of what to say. They both watched as the little bug lifted it's wings and flew from Ellis' hands and above their heads.

Ellis turned and made to run back out into the yard when the gambler reached up and caught the hick by the back of his jeans. Nick tugged Ellis backwards and dragged him down until he was sitting on the step below the gambler, resting between his knees. Ellis started to protest but Nick quickly silenced him.

"Settle down, Sport, you're running around so much I'm getting tired just watching you."

With a  bit of a huff Ellis relaxed back against the older man, draping his arms over Nick's legs and resting his head back on his shoulder. Nick crossed his arms over Ellis' chest and rested his chin on the Georgian's tilted head, just a few inches above his ear. A few locks of Ellis' hair that was sticking out from under his cap were ruffled as Nick sighed through his nose.

"I wonder which one is mine." Ellis mumbled.

Nick glanced out at all the little blinking bugs, the corner of his mouth twitching up. "One that's always lighting up."

Ellis laughed and sunk back into the gambler a little more. Nick's mouth curled up a bit at a thought and muttered to the hick, "Keith's is probably missing a wing and some legs."

Ellis gave a little gasp of exasperation. "Nick! That's mean! An' Keith still has all his arms an' legs!"

Nick chuckled and bent, pressing his mouth against the crook of Ellis' neck in a light nuzzle.

"I'm kidding, El." He wasn't completely, but he said it anyway to quiet the hick down.

Ellis huffed and tilted his head against the gambler's.

Nick dragged his lips lightly up Ellis' neck, smirking slightly when the Georgian's skin prickled as he ghosted over the shell of his ear. Placing his chin on the mechanic's head again they sat there, Ellis silent for once, as they simply enjoyed the closeness.

A slight movement caught Nick's attention. A firefly crawled on the bill Ellis' hat, lighting up as the gambler shifted his head slightly to focus on it. Nick was going to blow on it so the bug would fly away but paused when it stayed lit, it's soft glow not wavering. The gambler titled his head to look at Ellis' face. A content smile was on the Georgian's face, eyes half-lidded as he watched out into the yard. Nick looked back just in time to see the little bug fly off of Ellis' hat, still glowing softly.

He had found Ellis' firefly.